The United States recorded 2,419,921 deaths in 2003 in a population of 290,809,777. What is the crude mortality rate per 100,000?

1. The crude mortality rate is all deaths over the size of the population they occurred in. 2. 2,419,921 divided by 290,809,777 equals 0.008321. 3. Multiplying by 100,000 gives 832.1 deaths per 100,000 population. 4. 83.2 uses a multiplier of 10,000 and 8.3 uses 1,000, so both understate the rate. 5. 8,321.0 uses a multiplier of 1,000,000, which overstates it by a factor of 10. _Source: CDC Principles of Epidemiology in Public Health Practice (3rd ed., US federal, public domain), Lesson 3 "Measures of Risk", section Crude mortality rate (crude death rate)_